27. Go With My Gut

27

GO WITH MY GUT

“ S o tell me about why Easton set you two up?” Laurel asked twenty minutes later.

They were sitting in the family room. Everyone had a drink in their hand, snacks they were picking at while dinner was cooking and he was trying to figure out why he was acting like a long lost lover who couldn’t get his hands on his woman enough.

He’d seen the shocked look on his friends’ faces and knew there’d be some explaining to do or they were going to start throwing the L word around again.

“It was my idea,” Nicole said. “I was having crappy luck with dating. I was working a lot and not getting out and, when I was out, the guys hitting on me were creeps. Then they’d find out what I did for a living and had two reactions.”

“Let me guess,” she said. “They loved it or were intimidated by it.”

“Exactly,” Nicole said. “I knew you’d understand.”

“Really?” she asked. “Why do you think that?”

“Because Easton told us that you looked one way and had a career not fitting to that at times. Just like him. You’d get what it’s like to be judged on something so stupid like that.”

He turned and saw Laurel’s face flush. “Did you tell Nicole everything about what happened with us early on?”

“He did,” Nicole said. “And the fact you are bringing it up now is even better. I told him it was great and important that you apologized.”

“I was wrong,” she said. “Just as you said. It’s happened to me enough and then for me to do it to him was stupid and silly.”

“But you were going through something or just went through something. It’s hard not to remember that. I don’t hold it against you.”

“Thanks,” she said. “That means a lot.”

“Besides, I want some advice on accessorizing when we are done.”

“From me?” she asked. “Why?”

“Because whenever I try to do it it feels forced. You look effortless. That’s a talent I don’t have.”

“You have other talents,” Liam said, putting his arm around his wife.

“Gee, thanks. So you’re agreeing I dress boring? Like a stuffy lawyer?”

Easton laughed. Nicole did dress that way at work when they went into the office. She always had brown, black, or blue suits on. Not a lot of colorful shirts or shoes either. Not like Laurel had.

He never noticed it until Rachelle pointed it out one day.

“You’re my stuffy lawyer,” Liam said. “And if it’s what you are comfortable wearing, what’s the big deal?”

“I can be comfortable and more stylish too,” Nicole argued. “Doesn’t mean I have to change my suits, but maybe get a few prettier shirts or accessories. Start out small.”

“I’d love to offer suggestions,” Laurel said. “I’m partial to my employer’s accessories now, but I’ve got a lot of other things too.”

“Good,” Nicole said. “Back to our story.”

“Our love story,” Liam said.

Easton used to gag when Liam said shit like that, but now he didn’t think that way for some reason.

“My man is a romantic,” Nicole said, laying her head on her husband’s shoulder for a brief second.

“I find it sweet,” she said. “I’ve never been with someone romantic before.”

Easton frowned. “Do you want that?”

“Not really,” she said. “Not if it’s forced. I like little things like the next woman does. You know, grabbing and slapping my ass goes a long way with me. But if we were out in public, it might not be the best.”

She was laughing when she said that and it made him feel a bit better. It wasn’t him to be romantic and what she suggested was far from romance in many women’s eyes. He supposed he could try the softer romance like Liam did, but she’d probably know if he was forcing it too.

“Nicole and I were working on a project,” he said. “She’d just had a few crappy dates...with another attorney.”

Laurel started to laugh. “Was he cocky?”

“Extremely,” Nicole said. “Kept trying to tell me what I had to do to get ahead and all other things I didn’t need advice on.”

“Hope you weren’t too invested in him.”

“Three dates. I knew after the first it wasn’t going to work, but wanted to give him a shot. I didn’t want to be judgmental at first.”

“I’ve learned to go with my gut,” she said.

“Which is why you came back apologizing,” he said. “You knew what you couldn’t miss out on.”

“See,” she said, pointing her finger. “That’s more fun to me than flowers or candlelight any day. I like the sexy banter.”

No way she had it with her ex, but he wasn’t going to say that in front of anyone.

“I agree,” Nicole said. “Liam and I banter back and forth too. I never felt anything romantic for Easton.”

“Thanks,” he said, snorting.

“You aren’t my type any more than I’m yours and you know it. But we got along well. I like him as a person. I like what he stands for and how loyal he is.”

“Now I’m sounding like a dog,” he said, frowning.

“I like dogs,” Laurel said. “You’re good.”

He shook his head. “One day Nicole said that she’d never been set up before but asked if I had any single friends. That anyone I took into my life closely had to have the same core values as me.”

“That’s right,” Nicole said. “That is what is important. He said he wasn’t into setting anyone up.”

“Then how did this happen?” she asked, waving her hands back and forth between the married couple.

“Liam came to stay with me one weekend. He was on the way and texting me at work.”

“Easton and I were in a meeting and his phone was blowing up. I asked if it was a woman,” Nicole said.

“I laughed and said damn close.”

“You’re a dick,” Liam said. “You never told me that. Neither of you did.”

“Well,” he said. “Now you know. I figured what the hell and told her about you and we were going out. I picked a bar right then, texted it to Liam and told Nicole if she wanted to be set up, she could show up out of the blue and act surprised to see me after she scoped you out from a distance.”

“You two suck,” Liam said.

“You didn’t know that either?” Laurel asked.

“I didn’t tell Liam. I thought Nicole would have.”

“He knows now,” Nicole said, rubbing her hand on Liam’s arm. “We started to talk and hit it off right away.”

“If Liam knew it beforehand he would have asked me all sorts of questions about Nicole and been a bigger pain in my ass. This was more spontaneous on his part. He’s used to talking a lot.”

“Which I like,” Nicole said. “I don’t like being with a guy who doesn’t say much and keeps me guessing. There is no guessing with Liam.”

“I’m in the middle. I like some surprise,” she said. “But the important things are good to know.”

“Like if your significant other has active dating apps?” he asked.

“Oh, trust me,” she said. “I know even to ask that now.”

“Did she ask you?” Liam asked.

“She didn’t have to. In one of our many conversations I said dating apps were for losers, and I didn’t have the time or energy to guess if information or pictures were false.”

“I agreed with him,” she said.

“And I don’t need another woman now that I’ve got Laurel. She knows that. I’ve as much as said those words too.”

“Awwww,” Nicole said. “This is another side of Easton I never knew. And trust me when I tell you I know more about him than from a work perspective. Not only through Liam and being around him, but I’m sure he told you that we spent a lot of time with him and Rachelle doing things.”

He didn’t want his ex brought up but knew it would happen.

“He did tell me that,” she said.

“We aren’t friends anymore. She wanted to be, but I said nope. I won Easton in the split. That was never up for debate.”

“Won me?” he asked.

“Should I say we got custody of you like a child in a divorce?” Liam said. “But you know as well as I do, that was going to happen.”

He shook his head. At least Laurel found the whole thing funny.

And hours later when they were back at his place, she said, “I love your friends.”

“They liked you a lot too.”

“Did they tell you that?” she asked.

“They don’t have to,” he said. “I can tell.”

She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the couch. “Can we talk for a minute?”

“Is this where you tell me that something is wrong?”

“It’s not wrong,” she said. “I just think different and I want to know if we are both doing the same thing.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Overcompensating for the long-distance relationship now when we aren’t next door to each other?”

He processed her words and realized she hit it on the head. “Yeah,” he said. “I didn’t realize it. I guess some of it felt natural though.”

She got up and moved to sit on his lap. “Like this?”

He wrapped his arms around her. “Yes,” he said. “Is this something you don’t normally do?”

“I’ve done it before. I do these things when I’m comfortable. If it feels right, then do anything you want. I don’t want you to feel like I need it, or want it, or you have to force it. This is new between us. We’ll figure it out.”

“I like that you’re so upfront and honest about things,” he said.

“I like it too. I’ve always been this way and then dialed it back some. I learned that isn’t me. I have to be who I am and if it doesn’t work, then it’s not meant.”

“Yeah,” he said. “People compromise and they should. I’m not saying that.”

“Me neither. I think what we have is the making of something good. We’ve had a few ups and downs already. Maybe what we’ve got wouldn’t work for other people.”

“Maybe,” he said.

“But if it does for us, that is all that matters,” she said.

“See,” he said. “That right there. I know you were nervous meeting them.”

“And I shouldn’t have been, but I think it’s only natural. They are important people in your life and I know if they didn’t like me it’d be hard for you.”

“It would be,” he said.

“They liked Rachelle, didn’t they? You said you were together a lot. Rachelle and Nicole were close.”

“They did like her. I don’t think they loved her.”

He didn’t remember Nicole ever thinking to ask Rachelle for fashion advice and Rachelle was always put together. Just in a different way than Laurel was.

“Like is normally good enough,” she said.

“But it’s not always enough. Nicole felt just as blindsided as I did about everything. She felt betrayed too.”

“Because girl friends tell each other things too.”

“That’s right. And Rachelle had been confiding in other friends,” he said.

“Of course she wouldn’t tell Nicole because then it would get to you.”

“Nicole is the type to talk someone out of that behavior anyway. If Rachelle was another one of her friends and going through the same thing, Nicole would advise her to sit back and work it out or walk away before it continued.”

“That code of honor and loyalty that you and Liam have that she was looking for?” she asked.

“Exactly,” he said.

She hugged him tighter. “I’m glad you’ve got it.”

“Because you’ve got it too,” he said.

“I do. If we want to make this work, I think we can.”

“Do you want to?” he asked. “I guess we need to decide at some point.”

“I don’t need to wait to decide. I know,” she said. “Right now, we can figure it out and make it work. I’m not looking too far into the future just yet.”

“Good,” he said. “Because I want to try to make this work too. Next weekend, I’ll come to you.”

“And I’ll be waiting.”